Friday, August 15, 2025

Do Kwon Pled Guilty so SDNY Will Support Bid to Transfer 12 Year Sentence Out of US


by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack

SDNY COURTHOUSE, Aug 12 – After the collapse of the crypto firm Terraform Labs, Inner City Press covered the SEC's trial against it and Do Kwon - except that Kwon was in Montenegro.  Now, Do Kwon book here

 Early on January 2, 2025 Inner City Press learned and vlogged that Kwon would be presented later in the day before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger.    

The superseding indictment, Inner City Press immediately put it online here

Just after noon Do Kwon was presented and pled not guilty, was detained, thread

The case was reassigned to Judge Paul A. Engelmayer to whom the US Attorney's Office on January 6 directed a victims' notice motion, on Patreon here

On August 11, 2025 Judge Engelmayer docketed an order that Do Kwon was a change of plea - to guilty - on August 12 at 10:30 am. Order on Patreon here.

On August 12 Inner City Press live tweeted the guilty plea, including AUSA saying her Office will advocate for a 12 year sentence if Do Kwon commits no new crimes.  Thread.

More on X for Subscribers here and Substack here

The plea deal provides "If the defendant is eligible and applies to transfer his sentence pursuant to the international prisoner transfer program, this Office agrees to support the defendant's transfer application, provided that the defendant does not otherwise breach the plea agreement" - plea agreement on Patreon here

On February 27-28, the US Attorney's Office put in a four page letter describing discovery (including documents from a country left unnamed), and proposed adjourning the upcoming status conference. Filing on Patreon here

More / extra on X for Subscribers here, Patreon (with earlier US case status summary) here

  Amid talk of the new administration's crypto executive order - and before the SEC moved to drop its case against Coinbase - Inner City Press published a book: "Crypto Death Spiral: Could a Luna Rise Again?" by Matthew Russell Lee, ebook here, audiobook here.

Watch this site

The case is USA v. Kwon, 1:23-cr-151 (Engelmayer)

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